A Turkish government spokesman has hit back at US Senator Lindsey Graham over a tweet warning Ankara against launching an offensive in Syria.
Fahrettin Altun, the Turkish communications director, tweeted a response to Lindsey Graham on Wednesday, as Turkish forces entered Kurdish-controlled Syrian territory: “I heard that we may have ran a red light.”
“It was an emergency. We were in a rush to unleash hell on PKK and ISIS terrorists, who threatened our citizens,” referring to ISIL Takfiri group.
Altun’s tweet came in response to Graham’s statement that Turkey did not “have a green light” to launch a military op in northern Syria.
“There is massive bipartisan opposition in Congress, which you should see as a red line you should not cross,” the senator wrote.
Graham, a Republican and a key ally to President Donald Trump, introduced a bipartisan motion on Wednesday alongside Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen that would slap energy- and military-related sanctions on Turkey if it didn’t withdraw its forces from the Kurdish-held areas in northern Syria or operated there without US consent.
On the same day, Turkish forces entered Syrian territory east of the Euphrates River, and started shelling positions of Kurdish forces.
Source: Agencies
